Coronado Brewing Co: Stupid Stout

So once again I would like to thank Coronado Brewing Co. for sending me some samples for me to review in this blog. I just finished a review on their Islander IPA and highly suggest everyone try that one and the following. The other beer that they sent me was there Stupid Stout.

The Stupid Stout is considered to be an American Imperial Stout. This beer is the total opposite of the Islander IPA that I previously reviewed. Instead of being loaded with hops, this beer is loaded with malts with only a slight hint of hoppiness to it. This beer is brewed with many different style of malts which include; 2-row, ESB, aromatic,chocolate, roasted barley,c-120, brown, and black malts. I’m not sure if everyone knows the differences between all of those malts, so lets take a look at them.

2-row malt is one of the most common malts and is found in a whole variety of beers. Due to the fact that it’s a nuetral malt, it makes for a great base malt.

Chocolate Malt: Chocolate Malt is used for a variety of reasons, and gives a beer a variety of different characteristics. Depending on how much you use in the brewing process can determine color and taste that accompany it. The more you use, the darker the beer will be and the more of a cocoa or coffee flavor you will get. When you use less you may get a nutty flavor with a amber color. So with the Stupid Stout,  you can tell that it is brewed with more of the chocolate malt since  the color of this beer is almost black and there is a distinct cocoa taste in this beer.

Roasted Barley: This is often used in conjunction with the Chocolate Malts. Roasted Barely is unmalted and with that said is used to give that beer a sweet chocolate flavor to the beer. It can also be used to add color to the beer and will be used to give your beer a red to dark brown color.

Aromatic Malt: This is a malt that does as its name says. This malt will leave the beer with a distinguishable malty aroma to the beer.

C120: This malt is also known as Crystal Malt/Caramel Malt.  This type of malt will give a beer a Caramel flavor and aroma.

Now that we have gone through what this beer is made with, we can get to the good part, trying the beer!!

As you will see in the picture below this beer will pour to an almost black color, and will have a perfect head  that has no trouble maintaining itself. As soon as you pour this beer into you favorite glass the aroma’s hit you and you will notice the aroma’s of the different malts that are in this beer. I happened to notice a strong chocolate aroma, along with an aroma of some coffee in there as well.  With this beer havinig C120 malt in it you might expect that it have some sort of Caramel Aroma, but I feel that the chocolate and coffee were the main aroma’s along with malt aroma given off by the aromatic malt.  Also mixed in was a sense of spiciness that is given off by the few hops that are in this beer as well.

After you have taken in the aroma’s of this beer, go ahead and take your first sip. This is where you get all the greatness of this beer. The first taste that I had hit my palette was chocolate. For me it was a mix between a dark chocolate bar and cocoa. Kind of mixed in with the taste of chocolate and cocoa, there was a hint of nuttiness in this beer, which gave this beer a pleasent twist.  The next distiguishable taste that I noticed was a kind of toffee taste. This would be due to the mixture of all malts in this beer. You combine the C120 with the chocolate malt , and it produces the toffee taste that is in this beer. At the end of the beer and what I was left with at the end of the sip was the taste of the sweet caramel. The few hops, in this beer give this beer a sense of bitterness, but it is very mild, but thats clearly how this beer was designed to be.

Another aspect I would like you to look at with this beer is pairing it with different foods. This beer can go with just about any part of your meal. If you want to have it with your main dish, look at pairing it with dishes that have meats, poultry or cheeses. I would recommend pairing it with some sort of steak such as a Rib Eye.  If you were pairing it with an appetizer , look at different cheeses which can include Feta or Blue Cheese.  This beer can also be paired with a desert. Ice cream goes very well with this beer, as does chocolate cake, and any type of cheese cake.  I encourage you all to try it with different meals.

Once again Coronado Brewing Co. hit it out of the park

Cheers!!

Avery Brewing Company’s; The Czar Imperial Stout

So it seems like it has been a while since I have put up a new post with a new beer on this blog. So here we go,  over the last week or so I have tried a couple beers and the one that I’m going write about now is an Imperial Stout by Avery Brewing Company in Colorado. But before I write about what I thought about the beer I will have to  warn you that this beer is 11% alcohol so its no ordinary beer.

So the name is the beer is “The Czar” and I’m guessing there is a good reason for it. If you are looking for a great Stout the one is for you. This is one of strongest and boldest stouts that I have had. With that said the boldness does not take away from the greatness of this beer. The Czar is brewed with a variety of malts which include; Two-row barley, Oats, Cara-45, Black malt, Belgian Chocolate malt, Midnight wheat, Honey malt. Then at the end of the brewing process they add a batch of the Magnum and sterling hops.

When you combine all of that you end up with “The Czar” Imperial Stout that pours to a very dark brown/ black color. At the end of the pouring you will notice that you have a great khaki colored head that will hold for a while.  When you go to drink this beer you will notice the aroma of the malts and the hint of chocolate. The aroma of the chocolate is noticeable but not overwhelming. As you take your first sip you will also notice the taste of chocolate on your taste bud. You will also notice that the beer is heavier and denser that so many beers. The warmer the beer is the better it is. As it gets warmer, the aromas and different taste are so much more noticeable. For this beer being as strong as it is, this beer goes down relatively smooth. You won’t get a lot of bitterness of the hops that are in this brew. You will notice that the sweetness of the malts will balance the bitterness out.

I realize that this beer may not be for everyone , but I encourage everyone to at least try it if you can get your hands on this beer. You will be pleasantly surprised how good this beer really is.